The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 361

suitable t-0 the d11.y. 4. The ,nira.cle W4II 01ie ,iot to 'be gainsaid, as this mnn hnd boon long known to resort t.o the Bethesda springs iu search of cure. Y.,n. 10-16.-0,,0,real qf Je.oisl hostility. It is not against the miraole, but ~in~t. It.II imngined infri~ent of Mo.l\Aic law, l. TnK cUARGK AGATh"ST THK ni1.ro1'&!!.--r Ill.AN, "It ia the P&bbath day: It le not l111dul for t.h11e to carry t.hy bed." 1. lt BeMMd j11stified in the letter by the Divine (l(lmmandn"'"e. .. Take hero to yoursel\"os, and be.= no burden on tho S&bbnth day" (,lor. XYii. 21). 2. BvJ tht ('()nJfflalld mt«l to ,naeiffa oft,~ flOC of mercy or ('(l;,tfo,·t.. (Noh. xiii. lf>.) S. 'Ihe Je,os, ~ , . l flltMt ha,ie 01eir cavil wlum they cannot deny tht ,ro,·l-ing <!i rniNM-1& 4. Formali'.st.s aJJm- an extrtme re11e1'fflQS /or the letter of a la,c 1rhicl1 t.Jiey "~led and d,.sp,:~ in its inmost spit-it. II. Tm, ANswtrn TO TH£ CHARGE. "He that mnde me whole snid to me, Tnke up tlty bed, and walk." 1. 1' 1DtJS a serious rliarge, for it involved the puniijhment of dl'flth by stoning. 2. The cured man shelters /1imsilf under the authority of the MiNJOk-u,or/«r, implying that he who was able to do suoh & work must hnve authority to gi,·e him such a command. 3. He was still ignorant of the ,iame of the D,uine Person who had eurod him. "And he that was healed wist not who it was." He had hardly time to make inquiry before Jesus "had conveyed himself away," making an easy escape through the thronging multitude. Ill. THE DISCOVERY OF ms BENEFACTOR. L The cured man is found by Juus in tlu temple. His first a.et is to thank God for his cure. It marks the reality of his faith. 2. Our Lord's admonition to him. "Sin no more, lest &worse thing come upon thee," (1) It is implied that his lifelong affliction had its origin in his sins. (a) There is an iuvariable connection batween sin and mffering established by the moral government ot God. (b) Yet it is Dot possible for man t.o trace this connection at all times in tht midst of the complicated and mysterious dispensations of his providence. (2) It is implied that the Lord proportions his chastisements or his punishments to the degree of siuful provocation attained by transgressors. "Lest a worse thing come upon thee." (a) 'I'he lighter chastisement is often sent in mercy to warn against sin and folly. (b) The Lord does not a.ffiict willingly, but for our profit (Heb. xii. 10). IV. THE Ml.n.ACLE-WORKER llADE KNOWN TO ms ENE1dIEB, "The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus that made him whole." Who.t wo.s his motive in giving this information to the Jews? 1. It was not a malicious denunciation, which would only argue the deepest ingratitude on hie part. 2. It was not prompted by tk mere instinct of obtdiena t,o fk authoritw. 3. It was not de8igned to shift tJ11: respunsibility of sabbath-breaking from himself to J1J1Jus. He here emphasizes the miracle rather than the ea.bba.th-brea.k.ing. "It was Jesus that made him whole.'' 4. It was prompted rather (1) by gratitude to our Lord, (2) by the desire to make him known to others in a similar distress, (3) and to bring the Jews to recoguize him in his true character. His faith seems to imply &motive of this kind. V. THE EFFECT OF TBE Dl.6CLOSURE UPON THE JEWS. "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jcsuli . . . because he had done these things on the sabb:i.th day." 1. Their action had a doul:Jle rnot. "These things "-the healing and the burden-bearing on the sabba.th. 2. TJ;ey had no troe qm,pathy with suffering, ,ior /,ad tliey any true amception of the nature of tMw own eabbath. 8. '11'6 spirit of persecution often qringsfrom ignora.na. Vera. 17-23.-0ur Lord's 11indiadion of his cond'U,d, It is summarized in a single llign.ificant sentence: ".My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." L '.l'HE TBUE Jl.EAJ>'lNG OF ow LoBD's DEOLABATION. 1. His Fathers life ii, dw,raderized 'by unceasing activity. He may have ceased to put forth power in the way of creative energy, but he is still active in the spheres of providence and redemption. 2. OhriBf11 work is co-orditnat,e with that of the Father, <ma not rnerel11 dependent tJ¥ln it. The assertion implies equality of operation. 8. The aabbath mirac/,e jU,Bt ptJTformed wa, p<JA"t of hi.a Divine activity, but not on that account inconsilltent with the ea.bbath law. (1) As One "born under the Lnw" (Gal. iv. 4); (2) u a ".Miniat.er of the circumci.sior1" (Rom. xv. 8), he could not repudiate the Law, which was only to cease with his deatl., but (8) the work of mercy done on the Babbath 11,u; really included in the spirit of the Law, OIi, V, 1-47.] 'l'IIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. JOHN. 227